In May 2002, the Abidjan Convention held its 6th Conference of the Parties. Prime Minister N’Guessan of Côte d’Ivoire captured the region’s mood in his address to the meeting when he said, “ the constraints encountered in the implementation of the Abidjan Convention have been well documented, hence I do not wish to re-echo these. I have come here confident that these constraints will become things of the past, more particularly with the commissioning of the Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) in Abidjan and the election of a new Bureau, a new strategic vision is in place, and we are ready to resume work. With the renewed resolve to provide the needed political, financial, human and logistical support the Abidjan Convention is poised to move into a new and productive era”.

Our troubled region has seen terrible conflicts resulting in immense poverty. Furthermore in recent decades coastal ecosystems have suffered greatly from rapid development, improper use of resources and extensive pollution. Coastal erosion and floods are already particular problems, likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Crucial habitats are disappearing virtually everywhere, and human societies are both the perpetrators and victims of this destruction.

The Regional Seas Programme for West and Central Africa was forged in the early 1980s. The Action Plan and the Abidjan Convention were adopted by the Governments in 1981; the Convention entered into force in 1984; and soon projects on contingency planning, pollution, coastal erosion, environmental impact assessment, environmental legislation and marine mammals got under way.

A number of difficulties, including competing priorities and lack of resources, resulted in slow progress from 1985 to 1999. But today the Abidjan Convention is back on track, holding regular meetings and implementing its planned activities. Our coastal countries from Mauritania to Namibia continue to benefit enormously from their highly productive and diverse ecosystems. Rich fisheries, coastal tourism, industries and busy ports are economic mainstays.

Our regional partnership also lives on. Armed with renewed good will from the Contracting Parties, together with the opportunities presented through other initiatives such as the African Process for the Development and Management of the Coastal and Marine Resources and the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), we can finally begin to fulfill the promise of our potentially rich and prosperous region and its natural splendours.
The next step is to rekindle our hopes, and see how we can learn and benefit from the family of Regional Seas Programmes – particularly those well-developed, stable and enduring partner programmes such as OSPAR and HELCOM – and begin to contribute to them in return.

Dixon Waruinge is Programme Officer,
Regional Seas (Nairobi and Abidjan Conventions, UNEP

Regional Coordinating Unit for the West & Central African Action Plan (WACAF/RCU)
Ministry of Environment and Forests
20 BP 650, Abidjan 20, Cote d’Ivoire
Tel: +20 21 1183/0623; Fax: +20 21 04 95
E-mail: biodiv@africaonline.co.ci

UNEP Regional Seas (Nairobi and Abidjan Conventions)
P.O. Box 30552, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Tel: +254 2 622025; Fax: +254 2 624 618
E-mail: dixon.waruinge@unep.org